Times are crazy. The war in Ukraine has been going on for over three years. It is impressive that they have been holding down the fort for so long. Ukraine lost 20% of their territory but inched forward into Russia in order to have a bargaining chip when peace talks will take place. We’ve served food to groups of Ukrainians who were fleeing the war. Many of them settled in Cluj. The majority went on into wester Europe. Their free ticket to a better life.
Russia, the country that lived under the whip for 800 years has as different perspective over life. We shared their burden during comunism when they “freed” us from Germany. And they stole and raped. The code of conduct, integrity, honor, values… there are exceptional guardrails for propriety, but unfortunately they don’t come naturally. They have to be pursued against the grain. It’s an uphill battle. The devastation of the Russian army was less done by the tanks and bombs and more done by the army of young men that found women and children alive in their war frenzy conquest.
Three years later the war is conducted more strategically, with drones, and Ukraine has intensified the production of such combat tools and has best trained active military who fight motivated by protecting their country.
The young men that were boys three years ago, and are coming of age now, are scared to be drafted. The lack of experience, mental strength, lack of training, these are scary times for the young boys in Ukraine.
I was reading a statistic that in US, 77% of young men and women between 18 and 26 are not fit for duty because they are too fat or too unintelligent. The rest is not interested in the army.
The exceptions they had for Ukraine men to not be drafted, was if they had 4+ kids they were exempt from fighting in the war. But the martial law is still going on.
But three years is a long time. We have gotten used to the idea that there is a war next door. And leaders with all their negotiating skills and resources are unable to reach a peace agreement. Meanwhile, USA elected a dangerous man. Either because of his greed or ineptitude, bragging that he will end the war in a day, meanwhile making it worse, trying to dismantle the EU and NATO, and then destroying the US economy by imposing tariff on every country in the world. US lost billions of dollars in stocks and this week along we’ve seen everything tumble over there. Meanwhile, he still lives under the impression that he is on the right track, and his absurd decisions are like medicine. He also wants to conquer land and lives in an absurd reality of his on making.
We sometimes take days off from reading the news, because it’s too heavy, too wild. Preserving our sanity and being present for our day to day, raising our family, putting food on the table while we still have a sense of normalcy, going to school, swimming, exploring, music competitions, reading books and stories at the library, cooking desserts… One can feel this contrast as heavy but it is what keeps us sane.
It’s April 2025, Spring has teased us with sunny days and buds on trees and flowers blooming in the garden, and then we were pulled into a polar vortex and had snow, and a terrible cold wind coming through. -5 degrees and frosty windshields.
In a month we’ll be in france visiting Livia. A girls getaway. May we fill our minds with joyous things and not take any of these gifts for granted.